Action man, plastic king of robots
by Via
Summary: "Captain action man is not human. Connor has been watching him very closely and this is the conclusion he has arrived to". Connor tries to understand Becker and gets more than he wished for. Slash, R rated just to be safe
1. Fishing

Author's note : This fanfictioncame alive in my head some time before the end of season 4, it is thus set somewhere ( over the rainbow) during the third season. It was brought to life thanks to the wonderful reappearance of the show but shouldn't mingle with the plot of the new series.

Bear in mind that this fanfiction is slash, if you don't like that genre, you should maybe try another fanfiction :)

Disclaimer : Although I would like to keep Becker for myself, he doesn't belong to me! Neither do any of the characters or situations portrayed in Primeval. They all belong to ITV. I borrow them in the sole purpose of fun.

**Action man, plastic king of robots**

Captain action man is not human. Connor has been watching him very closely for quite some time now, and this is the conclusion he has arrived to.

Action man, Becker, Ken, whatever his name was, wasn't born on the planet earth.

Why was Connor so interested in Becker?

Well, about a month ago, whilst god only knows what kind of wild animal was wreaking havoc in town, Connor ended up in a bar with Becker. The team had split to cover more ground, and Connor, upon hearing a commotion in a bar nearby, thought something anomaly-related was happening. The truth is, however, that they only stumbled upon a bar fight, and when Becker was done putting things in order, Danny had called to let them know that in the meantime he had managed to avoid the carnage all by himself, god bless his soul. So Connor decided it was time for a well deserved beer, and even if Becker insisted on their going back to the ARC, Connor wouldn't bulge, and the captain let out a exasperated sigh, sitting down next to him and pointing out with resign that: "he only stayed there because his job was to protect him and that he was a real trouble magnet". Connor didn't get a chance to enjoy himself though, as almost half the girls from the bar were constantly trying to throw themselves at the man next to him. Connor thought it was unfair, a little bit, and annoying, a lot, so he finished as quickly as he could and the pair set off to the ARC.

Only with hindsight, it occurred to Connor that Becker had not paid attention to any of these girls, however beautiful; nor had he even blushed at their advances. He had just smiled a polite smile and cut all hopes in a very courteous fashion. What man does that? There were at least 30 girls there and none of them stroke his fancy? Something was wrong.

So began the watching.

Becker never looked twice at a girl. Of course he had this weird way of always 'staring', his eyes focused and his brows furrowed, like he's in deep concentration, but this look seems only natural on him and he gives it to all creatures alike : people, animals or unidentified breeds of in-betweens.

And not only does he not find any girl meeting his standards, but he doesn't even seem to look for one. Connor had tried (and other people too, at times) to invite him over and over: to parties, to pubs, indie rock concerts, Star Trek conventions, anything that would allow them to "have fun and meet ladies". Becker had always rejected the offer with no motivation, as if the refusal was explanatory enough. Connor gathered that maybe Becker just didn't fancy spending his time with him (although that was highly unlikely, he was a likeable guy). Whenever asked a question about his free time, the soldier would always brush away the question with a smile or a very menacing silence (usually followed by the click of his gun).

So what did the guy do for fun?

Charging the battery and uploading the newest cyber ability no doubt.

But Connor couldn't think of such a silly solution (or, at least, couldn't give it credit), so he just tried to find answers by other means then direct questions. He started digging.

Connor wasn't technically a spy, but he figured that, given his unmatched intelligence, he could do a decent job. So much for that thought … The first time he tried to break into Becker's locker he somehow managed to get his hand stuck in it. Of course the first person who had showed up to help was Becker himself. He didn't ask anything but Connor had tried to justify his being there anyway; the captain had remained calm and seemingly unimpressed by the rambling.

The second endeavour was a little more successful, though it ended in disaster. Connor decided to directly break into the man's personal computer (as breaking into his personal files had been impossible, those being stored in military servers to which he didn't have any access). He found a lot of professional reports and almost nothing else. His desktop was empty, his mailbox was empty, every clue seemed to point to Becker having no life at all.

Now for the disaster: Connor, however good with computers, wasn't familiar with military protocols concerning informatics. He was, for instance, completely oblivious to the fact that, as he slipped through the files, the most sensitive content was being erased completely.

That started a mess of epic proportions. An investigation had been launched and a middleman from the army had been sent to handle all military operations while the cause of the security breech wasn't identified. Lester had been in a very sour mood for weeks, but at least Danny thought it was fun, having a brand new military toy to mess with. As always, Becker had remained stoic all the while.

Connor had been fairly careful in his mischief. As the culprit couldn't be found out, the investigation dragged on and on, making the team put up with a new military figure that was authorized to order them and Becker around. It wasn't a problem for the team (as if they would listen!) but Connor started to feel bad for the poor captain. So, regardless of all consequences, and having absolutely no idea how he was going to explain himself, Connor decided to tell Becker the truth.

The conversation went well. Connor caught Becker in the locker room and started babbling. For a good five minutes, he didn't make any sense, but Becker seemed to understand he was trying to initiate a conversation and patiently waited for Connor to find a way to connect his brain to his mouth. When Connor managed to say: "about the security breech …", Becker's eyebrows rose ever so slightly ( a movement that any non-trained eye wouldn't have caught, but Connor was watching the man for at least two months now). The sudden alteration to Becker's usually statue-like demeanour made Connor panic, and once again, there was no possible way to get a word out of him. Becker put a reassuring hand on his shoulder in order to make him stop fidgeting, and, looking at him in his "intense" kind of way, told him: "I get it, it was you, wasn't it?" Connor nodded hesitantly and simply asked: "Am I going to jail?"

Becker seemed to be amused by that (but surely, it was an illusion): "Do you want to go to jail?"

"No" Connor had answered, whining.

"Don't worry; I'll deal with the military".

Becker was almost out of the room when Connor asked: "Don't you want to know why?" (And just then he could have hit his head against his locker)

Becker turned around and, again, with an almost imperceptible shift of eyebrows, threw the question back at him: "Do you want to tell me?"

"Not really"

"Ok" was all he said, then he left the room.

That's when his doubts about Becker turned to a horrible truth. Becker wasn't human! His hair was made of plastic, he had no life outside the office, he didn't like any human being or animal, he didn't have a first name, and he wasn't even capable of getting properly angry when being wronged.

Becker was definitely not human.

When Connor exposed his theory to Abby (without giving too much details about how he had come to it), it was too late for her to try and change his mind as Connor, as sure as he'd been certain of Gandalf's real existence, now KNEW Becker wasn't normal.

However, Abby did have a point when she brought up the possibility of him having a girlfriend (which could explain his not wishing to ever do anything after work). So though it couldn't explain everything (and though he certainly wouldn't change his mind even if Becker was to confirm), Connor decided that, in the name of science, he should just ask the man. And so he did.

As his anomaly detector started to screech, he rushed to the garage and saw that only Becker was already there behind the wheel. So, as it was the perfect opportunity, he sat next to him. He fidgeted a little but managed to simply say this: "Hi. Do you have a girlfriend?"

Becker answered "no", not even bothering to turn towards him, but as Connor sunk into the leather seat, whistling the discomfort away, he saw a pair of dark eyes watching him in the rear-view mirror. At that, Connor stopped making any sounds, and sunk even lower into the seat, too scared to even breathe anymore.

Soon before he died of lack of air supply, Danny arrived. And Connor didn't even complain when the man claimed the passenger seat.

The day went perfectly well after that, Sarah had almost gotten eaten, Abby had been sucked into an anomaly and Danny had risked his life to save the world, a usual day at the office. Becker, always the good soldier, had been efficient and quiet.

When Connor got home, he decided he would never stay alone in the same room as Captain Becker ever again, for safety reasons. He didn't know exactly who or what he was yet, but he was convinced that he wasn't normal. There was something very disturbing about him that made Connor shudder every time he set eyes upon him. And if the look he had seen in the car was any indication, the captain knew there was something up.

TBC

As I'm undergoing exams (lots of them, university be damned!), I hope I'll be able to post the next chapter soon but I can't promise anything. I can reassure though, a good part of it is already written!


	2. Which is the lesser of two evils?

"Connor, where the hell were you? An anomaly has been detected, we have to go"

"Oh, I didn't know" Connor lied, colouring lightly.

"So? Come on now we don't have all day" Abby insisted, seeing Connor wasn't moving as fast as he would when an anomaly appeared.

"Yeah,right," Connor stood up slowly, trying to buy some time in order to make up a good excuse. He looked around and saw a broken anomaly detector lying on a desk. "Can't you manage without me? I have to fix this" (He showed the device to her for emphasis), "it's kinda important."

"You're kidding?" Abby wondered, "you can fix this anytime you want, come on let's go", she grabbed his sleeve and dragged him to the car where all the team was already seated.

* * *

Raptors. Connor hates raptors so much! Sneaky, cruel little things they are. At least Danny enjoys himself. Running and jumping around to try and escape seems to be his idea of fun, but Connor can't concur, it's not that he doesn't like a bit of adrenaline, it's just that he's tired, and that, past the surprise of seeing actual raptors for the first time, this particular species loses all of its seduction power.

At least he's managed to avoid Action man so far, so this day doesn't suck as much as it could.

An anomaly had opened in Madam Tussauds museum, and a family of three raptors (mommy and two kiddies) had decided to go check out wax figures. Danny had decided to split the team, he'd taken Connor with him to look for the mini raptors and sent the others to go hunt the big bad mother.

Connor didn't know how it was going for the rest of the team, but he and Danny had not been the ones doing the chasing. The mini monsters had even managed to split them up. Now Connor was alone in the dark TV stars room, and he highly doubted The Hulk and Buffy would come alive to save his ass when the dinosaur version of Chucky would bite it.

Connor heard a reptile noise (that was so close to a chuckling noise that he thought the creature was making fun of him); he backed away slowly, slowly, trying his best not to trip on anything. He felt the raptor was close but it was so dark, he couldn't see it. He closed his eyes and opened them again, hoping things would get clearer but the dark only seemed to turn to pitch black. He could have screamed for help but it would alert the creature, and a creature was always quicker than back up. So he kept backing away, hoping he could just find an exit, a light switch, a flamethrower, anything. He took a step backwards, and another, and another, and BANG. He hit what seemed to be a movie chair and slumped. Connor yelled in surprise then shut his mouth.

Everything was quiet.

Connor tried not to breathe.

Darkness and silence were wrapping around him like a cloak, he could feel the weight of it against his skin, heavy, oppressive.

Suddenly something grabbed the collar of his shirt and yanked him up and backwards. Connor let out a shriek and fell against something hard. An arm wound around his waist to trap him and a hand was put to his mouth to silence him. "SHUSH", Connor heard someone say aggressively in his ear, and he would have sworn this was the voice of the infamous captain Becker. So, being literally in Becker's hands, Connor didn't know what scared him the most: a rabid raptor or an extraterrestrial soldier. But he didn't have time to think about it for long because soon Becker's hand left his mouth and a second later, the room lit up with the blast of a small grenade. Connor first saw the figure of Steven Spielberg before him, his knocked-down chair at his feet, and then noticed inches away from it, the little raptor ready to pounce on them. He tried to run but Becker tightened his grip: "Not now", he growled. "What are you playing at?" Connor yelped, writhing like a madman. "Stay still", Becker ordered; and Connor listened as the light faded. There was another blast, and the creature was still watching them. Connor tried resuming his writhing but the captain's hold was even tighter than before, he could even feel the buckle of his belt digging against his back.

Then the creature leaped with his claws out.

Everything happened so fast. Becker dove sideways, fell on his back with Connor still trapped against his chest, pulled his gun out and shot the raptor before he even hit the wall where they'd been standing only seconds before.

Becker let out a sigh then unwound his arm from around Connor, who immediately rolled away from the captain.

The light disappeared again.

Connor heard the soldier stand up, but he remained on the floor.

"Connor?", Becker called out to him, but he didn't answer, way too scared to be alone in the dark with a soldier he still hadn't managed to figure out.

"Where the hell is he?" he heard the captain mumbling to himself. "Connor?" Becker tried again and Connor stopped his breathing. His heart was racing, he knew he was being silly, he knew there might be other raptors in this damn museum, and he knew that if Becker had wanted to butcher him, he would have let the raptor do his job, but yet he felt some sort of apprehension when he was in close vicinity of the mysterious captain, and he just wanted to avoid feeling it.

"We might need an ambulance" Becker warned in what Connor supposed to be a walkie-talkie. His voice had an edge to it and Connor immediately felt bad. Deciding that he was being childish and cruel, he decided to put the captain's mind at ease.

He didn't get a chance to right his wrongs. All the lights were suddenly on. Abby, Danny and Sarah were at the entrance of the room and Becker was two feet away from Connor who was still lying face down on the floor. Connor looked up and intended to give him an apologetic smile, but Becker wasn't even looking at him. His back was tense and his jaw was clenched, and if this was any other guy, Connor would say he was furious.

The ride back was far from quiet: everyone wanted to tell their story. Sarah and Abby explained how they had locked the adult raptor in one of the fake cages of the chamber of horrors and how Becker had then managed to choke the dinosaur to sleep with his bare hands; then Danny said how he'd knocked out the mini raptor by throwing the wax head of George Bush at him ("It was the only use one could make of W's head", Danny had pointed out); Becker remained silent, and Connor did the same. At least, he tried to do the same, because Danny and Abby wanted to hear how he had gotten rid of his raptor. Connor tried to make it quick, he said how he got lost and how he had thought he would die, he said Becker had somehow found him then explained his trick to bring light into the room. Connor finished the story by pointing out: "If it wasn't for him, I think I would be in bad shape right now". He meant it as "thank you", and hoped the captain would understand, but nothing was less certain. Becker remained silent.

The captain didn't once look towards him after that. All day his eyes had managed to stay unfocused anytime he was supposed to look his way. He didn't even glance at him when Connor handed over his gun for him to put away in the armory. He didn't even sneer a little like he used to upon seeing how the metal of Connor's gun was all scratched. Connor suddenly realized he preferred the staring over the avoiding. It was much better.

* * *

Connor was trying to fix a remote. It wasn't any fancy anomalies-opening remote, just a simple remote he used to switch the screens on and off. He wasn't succeeding. He was Connor, inventor of impenetrable systems, master of all machines, defeated by a armless remote control. A few feet away, Becker was talking security with Lester, his body stiff, his eyes glued to the reports his boss was commenting.

Since the raptor-incident, Becker was quieter than usual. It was difficult of course, to speak even less than never, but Becker managed it. If Connor hadn't been too busy feeling guilty about it, he would certainly have applauded the exploit. He was at a loss. What could he do to make this right? In his mind, the idea of Becker being somehow dangerous lingered, but it was lessened by the very human reaction Becker was showing. Snubbing the one who had wronged you was normal, but now all Connor wanted was for the captain to return to his freaky forgiving self.

"I see you're looking at Becker!"

Connor jumped upon hearing the sound of Abby's voice. Where did she come from?

"Erm …" Connor started, trying to figure out how he was going to deny the statement.

"Don't worry, for once I agree with you, he is being weird."

Connor watched her with a look of confusion that she misinterpreted as a glare.

"Weirder than usual", she corrected.

"I think it's my fault!" Connor blurted out, and half his guilt had evaporated on the spot.

Abby looked at Connor ironically: "Yeah, of course, it is your fault."

"Well, it is!" Connor assured, fearing a mean come-back of the crushing guilt if his confession was to be refused.

Little did he know that Abby's answer would triple the said guilt: "Unless you are the one who pushed him to inadvertently provoke a security breach, I think you have to stop worrying. Becker's too mad at himself for having committed such a silly mistake to be worrying about whatever it is you've done".

The only answer Connor could work out was : "Uh?"

Abby gave him a quizzical look: "You don't know?". Connor's expression must have been pretty confused as Abby cared to elaborate: "You remember the security breach we had, yeah? Well it was Becker who had caused it. He had forgotten to apply a protocol and then … well. You know the consequences."

"He was accused of that?" Connor asked incredulously, wondering how any investigation could have led to that surreal conclusion.

"No… "

Connor let out a sigh of relief.

"He admitted to it himself", Abby continued, watching Becker with empathy. "Lester is still mad, and I think he got downgraded or something."

The guilt was taking too much room, Connor felt his skin stretch. He was going to blow up. Becker had taken the fall for him, and Connor had repaid him with his ungratefulness.

Abby turned to look at him : "You look a little pale", she worried.

"Not at all" Connor assured, his voice so high-pitched he shouldn't have bothered to lie at all.

* * *

Connor entered the locker room with his head low and his hope of forgiveness high. He was adorable, he knew it. He was going to crawl and beg on his knees if he needed too. Becker had to return to his freakish robotic self ( in opposition to his normal brooding robotic self), he had to, or Connor would choke on his guilt. The word "guilt" was so present in his mind he would soon spell it in his sleep.

Becker had been practicing at the shooting range. Connor knew that, because he had watched him all the while to make sure the captain wouldn't leave before he had the time to corner him and crush him with his deep regrets.

The king of silence was putting his soldier gear back on. Another security guard was there minding his own business. As the door of the room clicked shut, Becker turned his head towards the intruder. His cold eyes met Connor's, whose courage (and eyes) plummeted to the floor. When he dared look back up, he saw the captain signaling the other soldier to leave. Connor's heart started bashing against his ribcage. They were alone.

Becker turned his back on Connor and started lacing his combat boots. He was taking his sweet time and making quite a show out of it too … Connor thought: "passive aggressive much?" but then remembered Becker had never exactly been passive about his aggression (no dinosaurs had lived long enough to tell the tale … also they weren't capable of speech, which didn't help).

When he was finished (about ten minutes later), he turned his attention back to Connor and crossed his arms.

Connor knew he had something to say, but couldn't remember how he had planned to say it. In front of him Becker was standing tall, and quiet, and kind of murderous. He opened his mouth, than shut it. He started moving his hands, like someone who has point to make, but no sounds came out of his mouth. Becker remained still as marble.

Finally, Connor decided to just stop trying to be elaborate, and just said what he wanted to say : "Thank you".

Becker looked taken aback (this had to be a first), but Connor didn't have any time to take a picture for as soon as the surprised had showed, it had been replaced by a small smile. Becker nodded, and Connor took that as a "I accept your thankfulness and forgive you for everything". Connor wasn't a very perceptive boy because in about five seconds, Becker had walked towards him and grabbed the collar of his shirt. He didn't shake him but still, he was holding on tightly to the fabric and Connor was about to drown in his fear. "Now, never pull a stunt like you did ever again! " Becker spat every word. Connor was trembling (just a little bit), and Becker let him go. His face was softer now, his rage had been expressed.

Connor told himself that now, he was forgiven, and this time he was right. He nodded, emulating Becker's language to assure him he had learned his lesson. He was still a little shaken and didn't trust his legs to work properly, so he didn't leave immediately, and Becker had the time to add something that he didn't quite understand: "I get it, but don't let it mess with your job and mine."

Connor furrowed his brow: "You get what?"

Becker smirked, he actually smirked, but didn't answer. He walked towards the door and left the room. Connor was alone, and confused.

* * *

Connor had changed his mind. He preferred the avoiding over the staring. Since their conversation in the locker room, Becker hadn't stopped watching him like a riddle to be puzzled out. It was a wonder the captain didn't suffer from conjunctivitis already. Wherever Connor went, the soldier's eyes followed him and it was starting to get really creepy. What Becker had said kept nagging at his mind : "I get it". What did he get? Had he figured everything out? And how? Was he really a kind of robot-like creature, like Helen's clones maybe? And if he knew Connor knew … was he staring at him like a predator ready to pounce on his prey? Was he going to get attacked? Connor was losing his mind. Alarms started to screech in his head.

Maybe it wasn't only in his head. Half the team was already running towards the armory. Abby caught his sleeve and dragged him along with her. Becker and Danny were already there, handing out guns. Danny gave Connor a tranquilizer rifle, as nobody trusted him with a real gun, but Becker took it out of his hands and replaced it with a black berretta, not unlike the one the captain would usually carry.

"What?" Connor asked, incredulous.

" You must know how to use one now" Becker answered with an hint or irony. "You've been watching me use it in the shooting range long enough".

Connor thought two things at once, one was "I really suck at spying" and the other one was "HELP!".

Becker looked him in the eyes and Connor turned to crimson red. His last thought was: "He's going to kill me", then Becker gripped his arms and threw him at the floor, and everything was black.

TBC …

Thanks to my reviewers and all of you who put this fanfiction in their story alert. You gave me the incentive to finish the second chapter (and look, here he is!). I must say however that I will definitely not have the time to update it so soon next time, but I'll do my best continue this story quickly!


	3. After the murder

This chapter is rather short. At first I thought I wouldn't send it and just wait for the next one to come along with it, but as I said, I'm not sure when I'll be able to update ( I still have exams to take), so here's a little something to keep you waiting.

Thanks to all of you who put me in their story alert or reviewed! I hope you'll enjoy this!

* * *

Chapter three: After Connor's murder

The blackness was stretching and morphing into dancing colored shapes. Somewhere, a little white dot was getting clearer and clearer. Connor tried to focus on it: it was light. "Don't follow the light!" he tried to order his mind but it was too late, and the white dot broadened and burned his eyes like a rising sun. Through the blurry cloud of white, he started to make out a shadow figure … Connor would see God, and he wouldn't be surprised if he had the traits of the infamous Nick Cutter.

Something wet and cold hit his face, and suddenly, his vision was sharp as a raptor' tooth. He was lying on his back, on the cold floor of the armory, and the shadow he had thought to be God himself was actually … his murderer, Captain Becker, standing with his arms crossed, looking like the ominous expressionless replicant he was.

"You've killed me!" Connor exclaimed, outraged, and Becker did have the courtesy to react strongly to the accusation. He did raise both of his eyebrows.

"I think he has a concussion" a familiar feminine voice intervened. Connor turned his head and saw that, kneeling to his left was Abby with a big bucket that was previously filled with water ( he knew that because the water was now on him).

"I think he's being his normal self", Lester's voice deadpanned from somewhere behind him.

"I think he should be taken to the doctor's" Abby insisted, a slight trace of worry in her voice.

"I'll take him"

Connor opened his eyes wide in terror upon recognizing the deep voice of his aggressor. He turned his head towards Abby to ask her why Becker was still walking free, but didn't get a chance as Becker was already grasping his hand and trying to pull him up. Connor closed his eyes and imagined he was weighing a ton, he contracted the muscles in his thighs to anchor himself deep in the ground. Becker was strong, very strong, but Connor's willpower was even stronger ( and visibly, his body, much heavier than he thought). He barely even moved. The idea crossed his mind, however, that Becker had recently choked a raptor to death with his bare hands … And Connor realized that maybe, the captain was just holding back, and would soon tug at his arm with some Hulk-like force likely to rip his arm off on the spot. Connor liked his arm (it was a requirement to pull off his favorite look: the vest), so he decided to think he was light as a feather. The thing is, however, that five seconds before his decision was made, Becker had let go of his hand.

"Can't you walk?", he had asked him seriously like a doctor to his patient.

Connor saw an opportunity in this. If he couldn't walk, Becker wouldn't be able to bring him to the infirmary. He shook his head no.

He saw the captain clench his jaw, and guessed it was because he had just thwarted his Machiavellian plan of doing … whatever it was he had just thwarted. Proud of himself, Connor smiled. He turned his headed towards Abby to show off his joy, and then looked on his other side, hoping to flash his joy to Lester. Only Lester wasn't on his right, the person on his right was lying on the floor, face down, with a little puddle of ersatz ketchup around his head. Connor only had the time to think: "Hey he looks like Helen's bodyguard" before he felt two arms snake around his knees and torso.

* * *

Connor was in Becker's arms. Becker, the infamous action man, was _carrying_ him to the infirmary. This man was (abnormally) strong and out of control. People wouldn't let Connor get away with that! He had seen Lester snicker when they had passed him by the door. The captain was carrying him like a bride! Without even realizing what he was doing, too busy trying to hide from the shame, Connor buried his head against Becker's chest. The muscles there tensed. Connor jumped in surprise, and almost fell off the captain's arm. Thankfully, Becker managed to catch him and held on to him a little tighter. Connor started to feel some kind of vibration and realized that Becker's right arm was trembling slightly. As far as Connor could recall, it was the first time action man had showed a physical sign of humanity. He felt a little better.

Becker got him to the infirmary in one piece and put him on a stretcher, but the doctor didn't even look twice at Connor and went straight to the captain. Connor was about to cry his outrage when his eyes followed the doctor's hand and found a little red tear on Becker right arm. Where had he gotten that?

"Is it infected?" Becker asked.

"No," the doctor answered "but the skin tore around the wound. You shouldn't have used your arm."

Becker threw a glance towards Connor: "He was being delirious. His skull hit the ground hard. There was a risk of concussion"

Connor was about to say that there would have been no risk of concussion whatsoever if Becker hadn't violently attacked him, but he didn't get a chance to open his mouth as Danny came running into the room.

"One is still unaccounted for."

Becker turned to Danny and the doctor grabbed a bottle of disinfectant and some cotton wool.

"Then he is gone from the building." Becker concluded.

The doctor started to rub the wound and Becker didn't seem to notice.

"We lost three", Danny said in a mixture of anger and sadness. He lowered his head, Becker did the same.

There was a moment of silence.

Connor broke it.

"What?"

The doctor was now using tweezers to get little pieces of burnt skin out of the wound. Action man didn't even flinch. Hi robot!

"We were propelled in the attack of the clones, mate, were have you been?" The hint of irony in Danny's voice suggested this line wasn't finished. "Oh yeah right", he added, as expected: "face down on the floor".

"It wasn't his fault" Becker interjected. "I wasn't careful; I almost bashed his skull, getting him out of the way"

"Yeah", Danny snickered, "who'd have thought his head wasn't that thick after all?"

"At least he didn't get shot", the doctor pointed out while putting a bandage around Becker's bicep.

Connor looked at the doctor, then at Danny, then at the captain; then back at the doctor, and then at the wound.

"It was a bullet", Connor inferred out loud.

Danny rolled his eyes, Becker simply said "yes".

"Aimed at me"

"Yes"

Connor wanted to throw up. He certainly had started to look a little green for Becker dismissed the doctor and encouraged him to have a look at him.

While he was being made a clown out of (look up, look right, look left, put your index on the tip of your nose, -"Tell me who's the president of the UK" – "Huh" – "Bad answer, it was a trap!"), Abby entered the infirmary : "How is he doing?"

The doctor decided to stop torturing him, he turned his back on Connor and started talking to Danny, Becker and Abby : "I think there's nothing badly wrong with him".

Connor snickered, the doctor "thought" nothing was "badly" wrong with him? He couldn't be sure? Where had he gotten his degree? And why was he not talking to him? He was a grown man, these weren't his parents!

"He should be taken home to rest however, just to be sure. He doesn't seem very lucid".

"He's being is normal self then!" Danny's input reminded Connor of Lester's previous one. He was starting to take it badly.

"I'll drive him home", Abby volunteered.

"I'll take him to the car", Becker offered

At that, Connor jumped on his feet: "Hey! I can walk!". He flashed the goofy grin of a child that just learned to stand on his two feet. Continuing his impersonation of a toddler, he also promptly fell to the ground. Maybe Connor was more shaken then he had thought.

"I think he's still in shock", the doctor proudly declared. And if one more of the doctor's thought escaped his mouth, Connor would kick him … or throw something at him from his comfy spot on the floor.

Becker advanced towards him, ready to carry him once more, but the doctor stopped him. Connor immediately liked him much better. "

You can't carry him, you'll deepen the wound." Becker nodded.

Finally it was Danny who took Connor to the car. He didn't carry him, he just snaked an arm around his waist and let him lean on him. At first, Connor was glad, then, having been mocked all the way to the parking lot, he came to regret Becker's propensity for silence.

TBC


	4. Detective Peeping Tom

If I keep this up, you'll start thinking that I'm lying when I say I'm busy and kind of undergoing exams! Well I'm not, and if I were any smarter, I would study right now. But what can I say? Plot bunnies are evil demons from planet Doom. They cannot be denied.

Thanks again to those who reviewed. I do not have time to answer to each of you personally at the moment, I will when I'll be less guilty about spending time on !

I hope you enjoy this chapter, and I hope I'll be able to update so soon next time!

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Chapter Four : Detective Peeping Tom

When Connor flashed his pass at the gates of the Arc and entered the building the day after, he could have sworn he'd heard one of the guards whistle.

He didn't make much of it, but then there were the smiles of his team mates and co-workers: the grins on the girls' faces, the smirks of the men, the reptile chuckle of Rex. Connor had anticipated this. He had been knocked out and carried by the infamous action man and now he was the laughing stock of the ARC. Wonderful.

"I'm sure you're imagining things" Abby told Connor. Her eyes were a little wider than usual, a sign that Connor had learned to associate with her lying through her teeth.

"Look man, just married and already hitting on blondes! What a shame" a square-faced security guard walking by them whispered to a colleague (loud enough for Connor to hear).

Connor pointed at him in emphasis and Abby gave him an apologetic smile.

In another corner of the atrium, Danny and Becker were in deep conversation with Lester. Abby joined them and Connor wasn't sure he wanted to follow. The only reason why he finally decided to tag along was that he had already missed lots of events and didn't want to be left behind. So he summoned all the courage he had and walked proudly to the little group.

Of course, as fate would have it, the only space available in the circle was next to Becker. So he did the only brave thing to do : he pushed Abby aside and squashed in between Danny and her. It was a daring move, and Abby did give him a very dark look, but he managed to not get punched by her, so he was safe, and safely hidden (one person) away from the source of all his troubles.

"Oh hi lad", Danny greeted him with a pat on the shoulder, "don't need to be carried around anymore do you?"

Connor turned crimson red. It was enough. He knew he had to be tough and do something; it was the only way to get respect. Nobody messed with the tough guys. Connor had to speak up and put an end to this immediately before it blew out of proportion. So he did the only thing a guy in his position could do, he shouted and begged hysterically: " I was fine on the ground okay? I never asked for it! Can't you just all leave me be? Please stop bugging me, yeah?"

The minute he said the words, Connor knew he sounded like a desperate bullied kid that was unconsciously asking for more. He would have taken them back if he could, but his high-pitch voice had reverberated in the entire atrium. Someone on the other side of the room clapped his hands; Connor turned his head to see the square-faced guard.

No one in the group said a thing. Danny looked contrite, Abby was rolling her eyes, Lester was trying very hard to hide a smug smile and Becker, his eyes directed at the clapping guard, looked as expressionless as usual. Lester cleared his throat and Connor was very happy for that: the sound masked the snickering of the passers-by .

Danny decided to open his mouth again, this time his tone was more serious: "I wanted to know if you were okay, because you'll have to stay on anomaly watch on your own while Becker and I find ways to reinforce the security around here".

"Meaning I'll have to chase you all day, fun" Becker commented sarcastically and Connor, for the first time in … well, ever, heard a bit of disapproval in Becker's voice.

Danny flashed a wicked smile.

"I'm not sure …" Becker started but was interrupted by Lester: "That's settled, then". What he really meant was : "I don't care, as long as long as you find ways for me not to get killed by a clone anytime soon". He looked pointedly at the captain, who's jaw was so clenched his teeth would soon be pushed back in his gums.

The group broke up, Lester set off to his office, Abby went one way, Danny went another, Becker followed him and Connor stood still. He thought Danny's plan was stupid. It was a pure waste of time. No amount of security could face a suicide commando like the one that broke in the day before. You cannot stop guys that don't fear bullets. The ARC's security was rock solid, what they needed to do was think of reasons for Helen to have sent her dogs.

So, when Danny and Becker were already on the other side of the atrium, he felt the need to shout this : "Becker's right!". The captain turned his face to Connor, he seemed a little confused. Danny did the same, he looked rather amused.

Abby appeared next to him : "Huh, Connor" she whispered in his ear : "He didn't say anything."

Connor realized that, once again, he was the center of the attention. He couldn't very well stop talking now. What's more, Connor was a nervous talker.

"I think … " he continued. Both men walked back to their previous location to listen to Connor. "I think that Becker thought … ". The captain rose an eyebrow. "Well, I think that he wanted to say that this was useless."

"You think, hey?" Danny mocked. Connor turned red and stared at his feet. Danny patted his shoulder with affection: "I know," he said softly ,"but do you have a better idea?". Connor shook his head no. Danny smiled a little and then walked away. Connor looked up. The captain was still there. He nodded once in approval then turned back to follow Danny who was chanting: "You'll never find me".

Connor dragged his feet to his computer and sat down with resign. One meter away from him, Squared-face was chatting up some kind of secretary : "Have you seen this, Becker has a groupie".

" Yes, the all package, with all the sordid bits and the low self-esteem" she added jokingly.

They walked away laughing and Connor wished them to be engaged happily ever after and be eaten by gorgonopsids on their way down the aisle. Sometimes he wished he was able to handle a gun (without killing himself) , because he would be a lot scarier … and/or would put it to good use.

Connor sat down at his computer, ready to do something, anything that could make him useful around here. Lately his only contribution to the ARC had been to give more work to the guards or the doctors.

"Connor!" Lester barked, and Connor jumped on his chair. " I need to put my general disappointment at everybody's performance on the system, and my message cannot be sent."

"That's because you have to send it from the main control room", Connor solved proudly.

He waited for a praise that never came. Lester was still looking pointedly at him from his high-perched fortress of solitude and importance. Connor bit his cheek : " That's because _I_ have to send it from the main control room …?" he tried.

"You do that", Lester approved, throwing a USB flash drive at him.

* * *

Connor dragged his feet all the way to the main control room. He felt really important, being the messenger of His Demonic Magnificence, Lester. At least the corridors were deserted (people feared the madness of Danny Quinn, no doubt). There was no chance to run into a malicious guard ready to mock him into perdition.

The room was also empty. Against the wall, dozens of low definition monitors broadcasted images from the CCTV.

Connor put the flash drive in the main computer and launched the transmission. On the screen, a little empty bar popped up. Under it there was a message that said : " 0% download. 2 seconds of process. 52 minutes of download left". Connor frowned then looked closely at the flash drive. Of course, Lester had recorded his announcement on a prehistoric flash drive. There was nothing he could do but wait. He put his hands over his head and sighed.

He sat down on a rolling chair. He rolled to the right. He rolled to the left. He swiveled it round. He fell. He kicked the chair.

One percent of the downloading process had been completed.

Connor decided to watch television, provided it was reality tv but in his position, he couldn't be difficult. He sat crossed legged on the floor and proceeded to choose a channel.

On one screen Abby was petting the head of Lester's girlfriend, the mammoth. On another, Danny's head was sticking out from an aeration pipe, looking smug and victorious. Just next to that monitor, Becker was pouring himself a glass of water, obviously not even looking for him.

"What a fascinating program", Connor thought out loud. He had to take a decision however. Whose path was he going to follow? His eyes found their way back to Becker's monitor. It was only natural, Connor told himself. He was still quite uncertain of what to make of the captain. This was the best opportunity to spy on him undetected. After five minutes of following him around from screen to screen, Connor decided that action man's life was really dull. It also confirmed Becker wasn't even trying to participate in Danny's little game of hide and seek.

A light bulb then lit up in Connor's mind. He had missed the events of the day before, but he had a way to catch up! All he had to do was watch the recordings! He was about to play the file when a situation caught his eye. On one of the monitors, Square-face passed by Becker and waved hello, only to be stopped by the captain. Becker was talking very closely to him. Connor could see neither of their faces. He thought he saw Square-face square shoulders tense but couldn't be sure. The angle of the surveillance camera wasn't exactly right … He wondered if he could change it. It took exactly twenty seconds for Connor to find the camera control on the computer. He was a computer genius after all. He pressed one button to have the camera pivot on its axis. The image got a little clearer, offering Connor a direct image of Becker … jerking his head around to look directly at the camera. One second later though he was resuming his one-on-one with Mister McSquary and Connor decided that he was being ridiculously paranoid, because even if Becker was indeed an alien from Mars (a possibility he still hadn't ruled out), there was no way he could read camera's minds.

Connor resumed his catching up, or at least tried, because the recordings of the attack had all disappeared, erased. That is when the alarms set off. This time, they were only in his mind.

He looked at the monitors and located Danny then ran out of the room, only to bump against a hard, black statue. The force of the collision didn't even make it twitch. Connor however was propelled backwards and nearly fell on his butt. He would have, if the statue hadn't been a man, an action man to be precise, whose reflexes where faster than Connor's ability to do something stupid. That was impressive.

Becker's hand shot forward and grabbed the middle of Connor's vest, pulling him up and towards him. Once Mister Clumsiness was in an upright position, he let go, but Connor still had to grip the captain's shoulders to steady himself.

Of course, Square-Face chose this exact moment to turn the corner. Perfect timing. The guard did seem a little surprise upon seeing the strange position the two of them were in, and Connor braced himself for a nasty comment , but nothing came. Square- Face passed by them without even smiling. Connor followed him with his eyes until he disappeared into another corridor. He couldn't hear him chuckle.

Connor then turned his attention back to the man before him and he realized two things simultaneously: one was that he was still holding onto Becker's shoulders for dear life; the other was that the captain was looking intently at him.

Connor let go of him as if he had been electrocuted.

"We need to get Danny here! He's in …" Becker interrupted him: "I know where he is. I'll bring him here, go fetch Abby".

They ran in opposite directions.

* * *

Abby and Connor were the first to enter the control room, but Becker and Danny didn't take long to arrive.

"So, these gave me away" Danny exclaimed, looking at the monitors. "Thanks for telling soldier boy where I was Connor, he would have never found me otherwise" he added with unmistakable smugness.

"Yes, thank you Connor", Becker said from behind Danny, his sarcastic eyebrow raised for only Connor to see.

"So …" Abby trailed

Connor started : "I was looking at the CCTV…"

"For how long?", Becker interrupted him.

Connor frowned: "What does that have to do with anything?"

Abby and Danny seemed to think it was a valid point. They examined Becker with surprise.

"Simple question" Becker countered, "Since when have you been here?"

Connor was about to answer when he remembered the brief moment when the captain had looked right into the surveillance camera.

"I wasn't", he swiftly lied, the pitch of his voice ascending towards high. "I watched the recordings from my station at the atrium. When you stumbled upon me I was just looking for you."

"Ahem", Abby cleared her throat, encouraging Connor to start talking business (and effectively saving him). She looked bored.

"Yes right" Connor said, ready to continue his story. He did pause when he caught Becker looking directly at the screen of the computer displaying this exact message: " 97% download. 49 minutes of process. 3 minutes of download left". The captain smirked. Connor considered panicking but decided to keep on exposing his theory, for he knew he would have plenty of time to worry about his being utterly screwed later.

" The recordings from yesterday have been erased". Becker's head jerked in his direction, Abby's boredom faded and Danny looked alert.

"Why didn't we realize that?" Abby asked.

"Because the attacks were so direct, we didn't need to replay them again …" Becker supplied.

"Why would they have erased the tapes?" Danny asked?

"Good question" Connor approved. "Because they didn't come here to shoot their guns!"

"Tell that to the three bodies", Danny slyly remarked.

"And to my arm" , Becker helpfully added.

"It was a diversion! It is not Helen's style to go gung-ho, she's smart. Evil sure, but smart."

"Smarter than this, Connor has a point", Abby agreed.

"A diversion for what?" Danny wondered out loud.

"I don't know but it must be why there's a clone missing. The others attacked us with no plan and no reason, just to insure his success "

"They didn't even try to defend themselves" Becker remembered.

"A suicide mission", Abby underlined.

"Yes, and while those went on the rampage, another did something that we couldn't see, then erased all traces." Connor finished.

"It couldn't be sabotage" Becker assured "we would know, we're protected against it"

"So he must have taken something", Danny concluded.

"Yes but what?" Abby questioned.

"We will find out. We are going to raid this place and see what's missing." The captain commanded.

This time, Danny and him agreed. Teams of two were made to search the entire Arc. Connor ended up with Square-Face. He was afraid the guard would give him a hard time but the man remained pleasant and professional all the while. Connor figured his discovery had earned him back his respect. If he didn't know better, he could have even sworn the man was scared of him, just a little.

TBC


	5. Secret agent man and his phone

Hello! It's been a while, hasn't it? I'm very sorry but my teachers have given me so much work that I come to regret my exams! That means : a awfully big load of work.

I had intended for this chapter to be longer, but since I hadn't updated in a long time, and the ending seemed cliffhangy ( ok, I know that's not a word) enough for me, I gathered I would send this anyway, hoping it'll help you wait a little longer for the rest. I do have some parts of the following chapters written, but I really don't know when I'll be able to finish them.

So I hope you'll enjoy this, and please accept my deepest apologies for the time it took me ( and certainly will take me) to update!

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_**Secret agent man and his phone**_

After a long day of finding nothing, Connor reached the atrium with Square-Face (he really should think about asking his name some day. Then again, he'd been working with Becker for what seemed like forever without even knowing his first name).

Connor was tired. He had searched the entire ARC. Everything was in his proper place: nothing had gone missing. Their entire afternoon had been wasted and the crew, Connor gathered, no longer thought he was a smart detective. Oh no, right now, he certainly was seen more as a pain in the … ARC.

"We might have missed something." Square-Face offered sympathetically and Connor couldn't remember why he hadn't liked him at first. The fact was : they had missed something. There was no other plausible explanation. Something that had formerly been in the ARC had been removed at the hands of an evil clone, and forcedly at that. Why set up a flawless plan and risk killing your creatures for something the ARC wouldn't even miss? He didn't know, and that bothered him to no ends.

Sarah and Danny entered the atrium.

"Nothing has gone from the lab" Danny declared.

"All the compounds were left untouched", Sarah supplied.

"We figured as much", Connor said. "You would have called us."

Although Connor's previous good point would invalidate this possibility, Danny hopefully suggested: "Maybe Abby and Becker found something".

"Or rather didn't" Sarah corrected, with a big smile that showed how happy she was at her own sense of humor.

Danny laughed.

Connor wondered when the wedding vows would be exchanged.

Connor's phone made a squeaky sound. He retrieved it from his vest pocket in a quarter of a second, hoping this was Abby, delivering some good news. His joy fell as he realized the sound wasn't announcing a message, but rather the imminent demise of his battery.

They all turned around at the sounds of familiar footsteps.

"Abby!" Connor exclaimed, not exactly sure why he was so happy to see her. Maybe he too (against his better judgment) hadn't given up on his hopes yet.

"Everything is in its proper place" Abby dejectedly said once she reached the little group. She looked expectantly at them but Connor lifted his arms to signify their own lack of results. Something was bothering him, but he couldn't put his finger on it. He looked around him, scanned the face of his new security pal, of Danny, Sarah, Abby, … In his head, something clicked.

"Where is Becker?" he asked, or rather shouted, a little too desperately at that.

Abby looked at him, her eyes a little wide at the sudden outburst. For some reason, Connor looked mortified, he felt mortified also.

"He had to … check ... something." she said, hesitantly.

"Check what?" Connor prompted almost hysterically. Abby seemed to be a minute away from calling a madhouse to welcome him as theirs.

"Something … security related. He has an habit of wandering off to check things !"

Connor's brain started running wild. All the chaos of what had happened in the last few months was getting in order in his mind. Becker's lack of emotions, Becker's obsession with sticking to plans and not wander from a selected path: it was all part of an evil master plan. Granted, he didn't know what it was, but he could recognize an evil scheme when he saw one … after some time. At college, hadn't he been a paranoid expert of Machiavellian government plots?

He tried to process everything he knew, all the bits and pieces of data he had recovered (willfully, or by accident) until today. "His wandering off" as Abby had put it did happen from time to time. Certainly his obsession for security was an alibi to cover other activities … The wheels in his mind kept turning, and, given the look on Abby's face, it had to show. There had to be a loophole somewhere … somewhere … Lester! Of course! Lester! Why hadn't he thought about that sooner?

« Lester ! » The words escaped his lips.

« What about Lester ? », Abby asked, bewildered. Danny, Sarah and Square face seemed to wonder why Abby was even bothering to answer to a lunatic.

"How did he get there?"

"How did I get where?" As if magically summoned by the telling of his name, Lester had appeared at Connor's side in a second.

"In the armory, the day of the attack!" Connor supplied.

"Ah, you mean the day you took a nap face down on the floor?" Lester's deadpanned.

"You weren't there! And when I woke up you were."

« You did take a long nap », Danny, always the funny one, intervened.

Connor grabbed Danny's arm: "Did you fetch him?"

"Temple," Lester's authoritative voice called him and Connor let go of Danny, "You're being weird. And I mean weirder than usual", he added, his tone leaden with sarcasm.

Connor was desperate for some information, so he decided he had to use his most dangerous weapon as a last resort: the puppy face. His eyes grew wider than humanly possible, he put his hands together in a praying gesture and blinked as much as he could, his head bent. " How? How did you get there?" he pleaded.

Lester rolled his eyes, pretending he wasn't affected, but Connor knew in his heart that Lester was a closeted softie. He was proven right: "It was Becker. Becker came to see if I was fine. Then we both went back to the armory." Connor beamed: he had his answer. "And there you lay proudly in a pool of you own drool," Lester quickly added to try and protect his image of the perfect tyrant.

Connor smiled at this feeble attempt of looking tough, then processed the information he had been given, and his smile fell. That was the loophole … and he had just filled it. The horrible suspicion that had crept into his mind was now materializing in a full-blown certainty.

"You look pale," Abby commented, bringing him back to earth.

« I need to do something », he muttered, then calmly walked away from the highly puzzled group of his colleagues. Once out of the atrium, he started running.

* * *

Faster than the wind, stealthier than … a fluorescent blue elephant, Connor ran towards the CCTV room. He had to trace down Becker, a task easier than he had intended, as he spotted him right in front of the monitors. His back was turned and Connor dived into a corner of the room full of boxes without letting the captain a chance to see him. Connor marveled at his own discretion.

Connor's heart was pounding madly. So the facts were these: Connor had threatened Becker's job by illegally raiding his computer. Action man had not only overlooked that attack to his privacy but even took the fall, allegedly from the generousness of his heart, even though Connor and he hadn't been BFF's. The only explanation was that the captain had something to gain in this; certainly he had tried to cover his tracks, whatever tracks they were. Then he "saved" him, conveniently smothering Connor's suspicions into the bud. But in between the strangely well-timed rescue and Connor's waking up, there had been a time when the captain had been alone, supposedly looking for Lester, but free to do whatever he wanted before he reached their beloved king of Sarcasmland. He had been free to, say, erase security tapes.

And now Action man was going through the recordings of the CCTV, fast forwarding to god knows which moment in time in the sole purpose of erasing another piece of evidence. In Connor's mind, there was no doubt about it. He was working for the enemy.

It occurred to Connor that maybe, he should have shared this theory with the group and come with back-up. Of course, Abby would have deemed his theory far-fetched, and he had no proof, but he would have felt a lot safer. Connor damned his own stupidity but kept his calm: the action man didn't know he was here. He would stay hidden until the coast was clear, then he would expose him. In the meantime, he would get cozy with the spider webs that had taken over his corner of the room, and would keep an eye on Becker's current mischief, which he was about to know, because the captain had stopped his fast forwarding and pressed play.

On the main monitor, Connor watched himself enter the CCTV room.

He prepared to run in panic, but noticed that in his hands was Lester's USB flash drive. So Becker didn't know he was in the room NOW, he was replaying the tapes of the morning. Connor was relieved, but only for a minute, as he remembered he had pretended not to have been in this very room in the morning, at least not for a prolonged duration of time.

Becker watched as Connor fell from his rolling chair on the screen. The left corner of his mouth rose in sync with his eyebrow. Then the blurry Connor in the monitor started watching the images from the CCTV. The camera wasn't angled in a way that could show which footage he was keeping track of, which comforted Connor a little bit. There was still some leeway for him to work with, should he be asked who he had been looking at.

"Those cameras make a lot of noise when they turn", Becker said out loud. "Was I interesting?" he added.

Connor thought the man (or whatever he was) was accumulating flaws: not only did he surely work for Helen (the wicked witch of all timelines), but he also talked to himself.

Then maybe he wasn't talking to himself but rather to the man he had turned his head towards: Connor.

Always the optimist, the computer genius (whose genius obviously didn't stretch farther than informatics) still thought he hadn't been discovered, only to be mocked by his mobile, that squeaked his disapproval loudly in the otherwise silent room.

Becker walked to the corner, casting aside a few boxes, then offering a hand to help the crouched Connor up. Connor would have rather kept hidden, but now that he was exposed, he felt weak on the floor, so he did accept Becker's help, but made sure to accidently brush against the captain arm wound in the process. If Becker did feel the pain Connor had intended to give him, he didn't show it.

Connor and Becker were standing face to face. Connor needed to run. Connor was sure Becker was faster than him. Connor was screwed. Maybe if he pretended nothing had happened, Becker would let him walk out. It was his best option. He took a step towards the door. Becker didn't stop him, so he took another, and another. He was about to turn on his heels and exit the room when Becker's hand shot to his arm and kept him still.

"This has to end, don't you think?". Connor would have agreed if he'd known what measures the captain had in mind.

Becker put his hand in his breast pocket and Connor closed his eyes, ready for some kind of weapon. Then he felt the soft brushing of a hand against his thigh and opened one eye tentatively. He saw Becker extract his hand from the tiny pocket of his trousers. The captain then put his hand on Connor's shoulder then left.

The stress of this strange exchange knocked Connor down. He sat on the floor, wondering what exactly had happened. Then he remembered the pocket, and his hand dove into it. He found a little piece of paper there. He unfolded it. There was an address on it and some simple words: "After work. Don't be late."

Action man was a man of few but threatening words.

Connor would not go. He would not. What he was going to do was this: go to the locker room, grab his jacket, get the hell out of there, because Becker was way too scary for him to handle, and then wait home for Abby and tell her everything. That was a good plan: run away, hide home, expose his evil coworker. Perfect plan.

Connor was still dwelling on the perfection of his scheme when he stepped out of the building and into the street. A car stopped next to him and a window rolled down. Of course, it was Becker the evil plan thwarter.

"We're going the same way", the robot captain stated in a robot-like manner.

"Huh … well," Connor tried to elude him. "Something cropped up, I have to do …"

"Something?" Becker prompted.

« Yes something, somewhere,» Connor very coherently continued.

The captain raised an eyebrow, unimpressed.

"Get in," he ordered, opening his side door.

Connor didn't know why, but he did get in. Maybe he was scared that Becker would run him over, maybe he was just plain stupid. Anyway, he got in.

TBC


End file.
